Straightening machine



Jan. '2, 1940. l UNGEIRER 2,185,481

vsTRAIGHTENINGwmcnnm Filed May 19, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet l FIE. 1. f1

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A.im lz, l1940.

F. UNGERER 'STRAIGHTENING MACHINE:

Filed May k19, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIGA-.7

l Patented'lan. 2, 1940 UNITED f STATES PATENT ori-ics Application May 19, 1937, Serial No. 143,467

' In Germany October 5, 1936 s claims. (ci. 15s-54) The present invention relates to sheetstraightening machines or roller levelers and more particularly to a balanced supporting means for. the straightening rolls.

An object of the present invention relates to automatically displacing,the ends of the straightening rolls in' a direction opposite to the movement thereof at another point'upon which pressure has been applied.

10 In the straightening of sheets or plates it is, under certain conditions, necessary to apply a greater pressure to the Acenter of the sheet with- .out effecting a stretching at the ends thereof. The machines now in use, while being able to Il -apply a greater pressure to the center of the sheet and independently adjust the ends of the straightening rolls, do not provide means for ad-` justing the ends of the straightening rolls simultaneously with the movement given' to the center 20 portion thereof to give a wider space between their bearing centers to eliminate the possibility of stretching 'the edges of the sheet when it is not desired. However, under the present invention,

the disadvantages or the prior art are overcome .g5 and it is possible to simultaneously adjust the ends of the straightening rolls upon their oppoltee movement at another point between the ends reof.

Other objects and advantages will become ap- Y 30 parent as the description proceeds, in which:

Figure l is a sectional elevational view showing the deflection of the straightening'rolls and displacement of the bearing supporting means;v

Flgure2isasectiononthelineII-1Iof Figure 3 is a detailed section showing one manner of effecting a simultaneous movement of the bearing housing upon vertical movement of the l center supporting rollers; o Figure 4 is an end elevation of a straightening machine showing the arrangement of the balanc- 111'8 ykes: v

Figure 5 is a section on the line V-V of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a sectional elevation of a modified I form o! balancingyoke; Figure 'I is a detail view of a form ci construction to permit movement of the bearing housing on the frame independent of. the movement of 50 the center-portion of the straightening rolls; and

Figure 8 is a detail showingA of the balancing yoke mounting means to permit adjustment of the pivotal point to increase or the lever arm ei'lect. A o

In the drawings, the numerals I and 2 represent upper and lower straightening rolls of a. i straightening machine orroller leveler. The ends of said straightening rolls 2 are suitably supportedI in bearing housings 3 carried by bearing supporting-members 4. The bearing supporting i6. members 4 are provided with'threaded portions 5 adapted to engage the internal threaded portions of nuts 6 which are journaled or otherwise securedto the machine standard 1.

Suitably mounted in said machine standard 1 v10 are nuts 8 having an internal threaded portion adapted to receive threaded portions 9 of the spindles I0. The spindles I0 are adapted to carry, in any desired manner, at least one supporting roller I2 journaled. in a housing I3.

The bearing supporting members' 4 are each provided with a Worm gear I4, while the spindles I0 are \provided withl a worm gear, I5. l These gears I4 and I5 are adapted to meshA withworm gears I6 and I1 carried by a shaft I8 suitably 20 journaled in the machine frame and upon which. is mounted, in any desired manner, a handwheel I9,

When it is desired to move the lower straightening roll 2 out of its normal horizontal plane, 25

.tions 5 and 9 or the worm gears I4 and I5 with 35 diil'erent directions of travel. For example, if the spindles III or the worm gear I5 have right-hand threads, then the bearing supporting members 4 or the worm gears I4 should have left-hand 1 threads. However, should it be desired to have `40 the spindles I0 move up or down to a greater extent than the simultaneous movement in an opposite direction of the bearing supporting members 4, such a movement may be effected by providing the threaded portions 5 of the members 45 4 and the threaded portions 9 of the spindles I0 with a different pitch, or through a different ratio of the worni gears I5 and I6.

By referring to Figure 1. there is shown a working pressure applied to the center portion V50 of'said straightening rolls 2 to react upon the sheet 'of material R passing therethrough. In this position there is a distance e1 between the upper and lower straightening rolls at their center portions and, due to the simultaneous down- 5 6 ward movement of the end bearings 3 upon the upward movement of the central portion of said straightening rolls, there is a distance e2 at the lend bearings.

The bearing housings 3 are connected to the bearing supporting members 4 as shown in detail in Figure 3. Under such a construction, when the spindles I0 are raised to ilex the straightening rolls at their center, saidstraightening rolls 2, together with their bearing housings 3, are

-supported entirely by the supporting rollers I2.

However, since the bearing supporting members 4 move simultaneously in a direction opposite to the -movement of said spindles I0, they will be lowered away from the bearing housings 3. Therefore, said bearing housings 3 can be displaced from their normal horizontal plane at any l standardl is provided with the usual side frames 'for supporting the straightening rolls I and 2, the latter rolls 2 being positioned in a frame 2|.

The machine standard 1 is provided with two raised portions 22 and a lowered or intermediate portion 23. The raised portions 22 are provided with upstanding ears 24 to receive a pin 25 for pivotally supporting balancing yokes 26. These balancing yokes 26 are providedI with upstanding bearing supports 21 between which are positioned relatively shortsupporting rollers 28 adapted to support the straightening rolls over approximately their entire length- The balancing yokes are pivotally supported in,a plane transverse to the length of the straightening rolls in order to permit said balancing yokes to oscillate over the longitudinal area of said straightening' rolls.

The balancing yokes 26 are each provided with a lateral extension 29Yon an end adjacent each other, as more clearly shown in Figure 5. The extension 29 is formed on the front of one yoke and the back oi the adjacent yoke in order to overlap one another and be secured in position for simultaneous vertical movement, as shown in Figure 4. Each extension 29 is provided with an opening 30 within which is 3| to support a stub shaft 32 having a depending screw spindle 33. In threaded engagement with the screw spindle 33 isa worm gear 34 adapted to mesh with a worm 35 carried by the shaft 36. 'Ihe shaft 36 is mounted in suitable bearing members on the machine standard and is provided on' one end with a hand-wheel 31 adapted to rotate said gears 34 and 35 to move the abutting ends of said balancing yokes -2li vertically.

'I'he ends of the balancing yokes adjacent the side frames 20 of the machine are provided with arcuate surfaces 46 upon which rest the arcuate surfaces 41 of the straightening roll frames 2|. Pivotally secured to the straightening roll frames at 38 and to the balancing yokes at 39 are plates or links 40 adapted to form a cooperating connection between the .frames 2| and balancing yokes 26 so as to permit the frames 2| to pivot-A about the connection-38 when a movement is effected between the arcuate bearing surfaces 46 and 41.

However, it may not be desired toA lower the ends of the straightening rolls simultaneously with the raising of the middle or center portion positioned a bearing of said straightening rolls. Therefore, the plates 40 may be omitted and the pivotal connection 3l between the straightening roll frames and the balancing yokes may be positioned in slots 4| formed in the side frames 20. Such an arrangement would not simultaneously displace the bearing ends of said straightening rolls downwardly when the center portion of said straightening rolls was moved upwardly vertically, but would leave said bearing ends to be displaced from their normal horizontal plane in a direction opposite to the working charge pressure applied at the center of said straightening rolls upon the pressure of the sheet material passing through the machine. By such a construction, the bearing end portion of said straightening rolls will not exert an eiective working charge pressure upon the edges of the sheet.

By raising or lowering the screw spindle 33 upon rotation of the hand-wheel 31, the balancing yokes 26 operate in unison and oscillate on their pivotal connections 25 in the direction of the longitudinal axes of the straightening rolls. As the screw spindle is rotated to raise the pivotally connected ends of adjacent balancing yokes 26 to raise the supporting rollers 28 for exerting a pressure upon the straightening rolls in their center portion, said straightening rolls assume a'position similar to that shown in Figure l and, in so doing, the bearing ends of said straightening rolls positioned within said frames 2| simultaneously lower andl effect a slight, swiveling A around the pivotal connection 38 and relieve said pivotal connection 38 of the strain on the bearing ends due to the ilexure of said straightening rolls. This lowering movement of the frames 2| is similar to the lowering of the bearing housings 3, the width of such lowering being indicated at X in Figure 1.

If the balancing yokes 26 are of the same size, then' the distance the spindle 33 is raised and the Y frames 2| lowered will be equal. A variation in the distance that the screw spindle 33 is raised and the frames 2| lowered can be obtained by varying the size of the balancing yokes 25. In

any event, the size of the balancing yokes are chosen in such a waythat with the upward vertical movement thereof to raise the straightening rolls at their center portion, the frames 2| simultaneously lower so that the eifective working charge is obtained in the center of the sheet being straightened while the ends of said straightening rolls have no effective pressure upon the sheet. If desired, the pivotal mounting point of the balancing yokes may be made adjustable along th'e longitudinal axis of the straightening rolls by providing any well known and usual adjustable mounting as, for example, the pins 25 may be mounted for adjustment in bearing slots in the yokes 26, whereby the lever arm eiect of the yokes on the opposite sides of the pinsr25 may be increased or diminished.

In Figure 6, a modified form of balancing yoke 26 is shown. In this construction, the'pivotal` support 25 is connected to the machine standard the same as described in Figures 4 and 5, while the upper portion of said yoke is cored out to provide pockets adaptedto pivotally receive frames 43 on which are mounted individual supporting" rollers 28. These vframes 43 are pivotally mounted at 44 on the upper portion of said yokes and provided with semi-cylindrical surfaces 45 adapted to /osciilate around said pivot 44 in'said pockets formed inuthe upper portion of' said yoke and thereby permit the supporting rollers 26 to upv adapt themselves to the deflexion curve assumed by said straightening rolls when said balancing yokes have been adjusted through the movement of .said screw spindle 33.

-While I have shown and described specic embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that I do not wish to hef limited ening rolls and supporting means out of their normal 'horizontal plane, said second named means comprising balancing yokes pivotally supported on said leveler and having their inner ends pivotally connected together withl the otherends swiveled to said supporting means.

2. In a roller leveler, straightening rolls. supporting means for said straightening rolls and means for simultaneously moving said straight-- ening `rolls and supporting means out of their. normal horizontal plane, said latter means comprising balancing yokes having their inner adjacent ends pivotally connected together with -the 5 other ends swiveled to said supporting means, said supporting means having their ends mounted on a balancing yoke for swivel movement.

3. In a roller leveler, straightening rolls, sup-g porting rollers for said straightening rolls, bearing supports for the ends of said straightening rolls, said supporting rollers mounted in balancing yokes, means for pivotally connecting the bearing supports of said straightening rolls to said balancing yokes for pivotal movement be- 15 tween said members and means adapted to move the center portion of said straightening rolls out of its normal horizontal plane, the ends of said straightening rolls adapted to` be simultaneously moved in an opposite direction.

FRITZ UNGERER. 

